Sans is Ness

Sans is Ness

Thumbnail for "Game Theory: UNDERTALE - Sans's SECRET Identity!"
Source	The Game Theorists
Era	Season 1
First appearance	"Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans - Undertale" (March 26, 2016)

"Sans is Ness" is an ironic reference to the video "Game Theory: UNDERTALE - Sans's SECRET Identity!", a controversial episode of the YouTube series Game Theory by MatPat about the supposed secret identity of the character Sans from the video game Undertale.

On the SiIvaGunner channel, this refers to a meme that encompasses multiple ideas, mainly the conflation of Sans and Ness, and a general association between Undertale and EarthBound.

Overview

A doodle drawn by Toby Fox referencing "Sans is Ness", posted on January 10, 2024.

On February 9, 2016, the video "Game Theory: UNDERTALE - Sans's SECRET Identity!" was uploaded to the Game Theorists channel. In this video, MatPat postulated that Sans from Undertale is Ness, the protagonist of the game EarthBound (or more specifically, the version of Ness from EarthBound Halloween Hack, a ROM hack of EarthBound created by Undertale creator Toby Fox). This episode was widely criticized and mocked for making far-fetched conclusions, having logical errors, and ignoring evidence that didn't support the theory. This episode currently has a lower than average like ratio and has since been frequently joked about online to the point where it has become a meme.

On February 4, 2017, nearly a year after the infamous theory, an episode titled "Game Theory: Who is W.D. Gaster? (Undertale)" was uploaded, explaining another theory about the identity of the character W.D. Gaster. At the start of the video, MatPat addresses criticisms of the "Sans is Ness" theory, arguing that it was just a fun exercise for him and that he never truly believed it himself nor expected it to be taken that seriously. Future mocking references to the "Sans is Ness" theory by MatPat would suggest that he agrees with the general consensus that the theory was a stretch.

On January 10, 2024, in observation of the announcement of MatPat's retirement from hosting Game Theory and its spin-offs, Toby Fox officially acknowledged the theory on Twitter, posting a doodle of Sans and Papyrus dressed as Ness.

Rips

See also: Category:Rips featuring Sans is Ness

On the SiIvaGunner channel, ironic references to MatPat's aforementioned theory have been placed in multiple rips. References to the Game Theory video itself can be found in quite a few rips, notably the first sentence spoken in the video: "Can you imagine a world where we're all represented by a font?". However, most references to the meme are indirect, and usually involve songs related to Sans (e.g. "sans." and "MEGALOVANIA"), songs from EarthBound, and/or references to Game Theory being used in the same rip. The meme is also personified by Sens, a fusion of Sans and Ness, who appears in the story arc The SilvaGunner Christmas Comeback Crisis.

External Links

• Rips featuring Sans is Ness - YouTube playlist by Aidan Zamboni.
• "The Truth About Sans / Sans Is Ness" on Know Your Meme